IS JESUS A REPUBLICAN, DEMOCRAT, OR SOMETHING ELSE? - By Ted Carnahan

Thomas Jefferson wasn’t much of a Christian as most would consider 'historic Christianity.'  One time he set out to free Jesus from the supernatural and miraculous stories surrounding him.  Taking in hand the New Testament and a razor blade, he literally cut out everything that seemed to him to be at odds with his view of the real Jesus.

Unsurprisingly, the so-called “Jefferson Bible” paints a picture of Jesus Christ that looks remarkably like Thomas Jefferson.

Since the founding of the American republic, people of all views have invoked the name of God over their particular political positions and persuasions.  But with the coming of the “Moral Majority” in the 1980s, a fairly narrow segment of Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians (claiming to speak for all ‘real’ Christians) loudly voiced a particular political platform: anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, anti-immigrant, pro-school prayer, pro-Israel, and so on.  Pretty soon, both Democrats and Republicans turned “Christians” into just another voting bloc.

Today, Democrats and Republicans alike strategize on how to use religious values to manipulate people into voting for them.  Democrats propose programs to assist immigrants and the poor.  Republicans advance public morality and personal responsibility.  Both say they are motivated by their Christian faith.

When we let any other framework or platform become the lenses through which we view Jesus, the message of Jesus becomes distorted.  If you are a Republican or a Democrat first (or anything else first) and a Christian second, you will invent a Jesus who looks remarkably like you – along with your politics, your preferences, and your priorities.

We have words for a Jesus like that: Idol. 

False God.

Disappointment.

If the teachings of Jesus don’t challenge you, no matter what your political persuasion or how long you’ve been following him, you haven’t been taking him very seriously.